A wiping system for a window such as a vehicle windshield comprises in particular at least one wiper carried by a wiper carrier and a motor for driving the wiper carrier such that the wiper is driven by the wiper carrier to wipe the windshield back and forth, for example with a cyclical rotational movement, substantially in a circular arc, about an axis of rotation.
In order to be able to carry out various maintenance operations on the wipers, the wiper carrier is movable, in general manually, from a use position, termed “service position”, in which a wiper blade of the wiper which the latter carries is in contact with the outer surface of the windshield and is able to be driven by the wiper carrier in order to wipe and/or clean the windshield, to a position, termed “maintenance position”, in which the wiper is not in contact with the windshield.
The wiper carrier can be brought into its maintenance position for example to clean the wiper, replace it in the case of wear or protect it from ice formed on the windshield in winter.
Also known is a type of wiping system in which the wiper carrier is in a position, termed stowage position, for example below the hood of the vehicle when the system is inactive.
In this stowage position, the wiper carrier is not accessible and it cannot be brought directly from this stowage position to a maintenance position.
A specific command of the system, from the cabin of the vehicle, makes it possible to move the wiper carrier from its stowage position to an intermediate position in which it is accessible and the wiper which it carries bears on the windshield, as in an aforementioned service position. The wiper carrier can then be moved manually from this intermediate position to a maintenance position in which the wiper is no longer in contact with the windshield.
In order to guarantee the highest degree of use safety of the vehicle and in particular the best visibility conditions through the window, for example through the windshield, it is necessary that each wiper is replaced with a fresh new wiper at the end of a determined wiping use quantity which, for a fresh wiper, corresponds for example to a number of wiping cycles.
It is relatively simple to note the date of change of the wipers and then, starting from a period of installation recommended by the manufacturer, to carry out their replacement with a set of fresh wipers upon expiry of this period. However, such a solution is not satisfactory since it does not correspond to a real knowledge of the actual wiping use of the wiper, which is the main parameter of wear of the wiper, and in particular of its wiper blade.
Accordingly, the invention is aimed in particular at proposing a method which makes it possible, in a reliable manner, to determine the wiping use of a fresh wiper.